I LB 3412 

I Ml A* 7 
1 1915c 

1 Copy 1 



ARTMENT OF EDUCA 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL 
REPORT 

OF THE 

CITY SUPERINTENDENT 
OF SCHOOLS 

1914-1915 



PHYSICAL TRAINING AND HYGIENE 



PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 
OCTOBER 13, 1915 



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL 
REPORT 

OF THE 

CITY SUPERINTENDENT 
OF SCHOOLS 

1914-1915 



PHYSICAL TRAINING AND HYGIENE 



PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 
OCTOBER 13, 1915 

xf /6V 



2 /lA 

I 

CONTENTS >A l 



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\ PAGE 






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Letter of transmittal 3 

Scope 4 

Corps 4-5 

Correlation of Athletics, Physical Training and Hygiene 5-6 

Hygiene: G 

Instruction in hygiene .'. 6- S 

Cooperation with the Board of Health 8-9 

Experimental — teachers' examinations for physical disabilities. . . . 9-10 

Cooperative experiment with the Board of Health 10 

Hygiene of the eye 10-11 

Pupil organizations for school hygiene 11 

"How to safeguard the health of the child" . 11 

Lectures on first aid 11 

Soap and towels 12 

Sanitary floor dressing 12 

Truants 12-14 

Tests of vitality and school fatigue 14-15 

Physicians in high schools 15 

Dental hygiene week and tooth brush day 16-17 

School Health News 18 

Physical training: 18 

New syllabus 18-19 

Double sessions 19 

Prevocational schools 19-20 

Special teachers 20 

Normal instruction 20-21 

Promotion license 21 

Class competition in health "... 21 

Posture 22 

Vocational schools 22 

High schools 22-23 

Evening high schools 23 

Physically handicapped children — 23 

Deaf 24 

Blind 24 

Crippled 24-25 

Pretubercular 25 

A thletics: 27 

James E. Sullivan 27 

After school athletic centres 27-30 

Standard activities — Boys 30-32 

Standard activities — Girls 32-37 

Summary 37-38 



D* Of D. 






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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 

New York, July 30, 1915. 
To the Board of Education: 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

The annual report of Dr. C. Ward Crampton, Director of Physical 
Education, shows the development of the organization of this depart- 
ment of the public school system. The importance of laying a 
healthful physical basis for the complete education of the children 
and youth of our City is generally recognized, but the means and 
method of its accomplishment have not been provided. This report 
shows a comprehensive plan of organization that is being worked 
out within the department and in cooperation with the City health 
authorities. 

Dr. Crampton has presented in much detail the essential features 
of the work inaugurated. All through the report he emphasizes 
the relation of physical training to health. The new syllabus in 
physical training and hygiene is described. Lessons in hygiene 
and in physical training are carried on with the aim of contributing 
to the health and physical efficiency of the pupils. Teachers and 
pupils are coming to understand the vital importance of both. The 
teachers are learning how to discover physical defects in the pupils 
and to what extent these defects are a handicap to the pupils' 
scholastic progress. The pupils are being trained to understand the 
importance of the care of one's health, the observance of the laws 
of hygiene and the value of physical training, athletics, games and 
recreation in developing efficiency. 

Closer cooperation with the Board of Health is being secured 
in order to safeguard the health of pupils in school and in the use 
of the school as a medium by which information concerning health 
and hygiene may be transmitted to the citizens. 

Dr. Crampton shows the importance of appointing physicians 
in high schools, explains the plan inaugurated for special training of 
teachers for class-room work, and reports upon the supervision of 
classes of defective children. These matters invite your earnest 
attention and consideration. 

Respectfully submitted, 

CLARENCE E. MELENEY, 

Acting City Superintendent. 



July 15, 1915. 



MR. WILLIAM H. MAXWELL, 

City Superintendent of Schools. 

Dear Sir: — 



I submit herewith my sixth annual report as Director of Physical 
Training : 

SCOPE 

The department under my direction has now three coordinate 
forms of activities: physical training, athletics and educational 
hygiene. Each renders its peculiar service to education, and com- 
bined they form in addition a solid comprehensive program for the 
benefit of the present and future health, happiness and efficiency 
of the children of the City. 



CORPS 

1 director of physical training. 

3 assistant directors of physical training. 

2 assistant directors of educational hygiene. 

3 inspectors of athletics for boys. 
2 inspectors of athletics for girls. 

47 special teachers of physical training in elementary schools. 
90 teachers of physical training in high schools. 

6 teachers of physical training in training schools. 

1 teacher of physical training in truant schools. 

1 teacher of physical training in trade schools. 

2 teachers of physical training in vocational schools. 

9 teachers of physical training in pre- vocational schools. 
12 teachers of physical training in evening high schools (men) . 



10 teachers of physical training in evening high schools (women). 
313 teachers assigned to after school athletic centres (men). 
185 teachers assigned to after school athletic centres (women). 

4 substitute special teachers of physical training assigned to technical 
office work. 



CORRELATION OF PHYSICAL TRAINING, ATHLETICS 

AND HYGIENE 



Under one direction, physical training, hygiene and athletics 
are supervised by different assistants, but each by its own method 
influences the same children and in manifold ways they support each 
other. This is clearly indicated throughout this report. Some of 
the major correlations are as follows: 

The new syllabus provides "an athletic period" which is given 
instead of the more formal lesson once or twice a week. The organi- 
zation of this period is similar in all respects to the athletic centre. 
The class is formed into small squads each of which pursues one or 
another form of athletic activity under the direction of its captain. 
From time to time, the teacher instructs the whole class in some 
new feature of the work, but the major portion of the time he goes 
from squad to squad demonstrating, instructing, encouraging and 
making records. This is a period primarily designed to instruct 
children in the forms of athletic activities which they may use during 
their natural play time (the afternoon), where facilities are available. 
The athletic centres, clubs and teams engage in a full, free use of 
these play forms and return to the required physical training work 
in the athletic period, the profit of their practice. In each activity, 
pupils engage in standard athletic tests which are recorded, and each 
pupil seeks to improve his record from month to month, and term 
to term. This gives a lively personal interest in athletic training. 

The formal lessons contain hygienic exercises which are specially 
designed to strengthen heart, lungs and the sympathetic nervous 
control of blood distribution. These constitute the foundation or 
vitality which is expressed in endurance in athletic events, and under 
the strains of life processes. The pupils are made aware of the fact 



that an intelligent athletic training and training for living are syn- 
onymous, and that a daily practice of hygienic exercises is useful in 
both. 

The new syllabus provides a series of mimetic exercises. These 
imitate important game and athletic movements such as putting the 
shot, standing broad jump, playing baseball, etc., and by their use 
good practice in actual play is definitely learned. 

Ordinarily, the boy has merely an academic interest in health 
which may be made lively and personal if he realizes that health is 
necessary for supremacy in running, jumping and basketball. Teach- 
ers in charge of after-school athletics have been instructed to em- 
phasize the fact that the rules of athletic training are the laws of 
health; that the use of the tooth brush, the cleansing bath and 
attention to proper mastication will improve athletic performances. 
This supplies to the pupil a motivation previously wholly lacking 
and gives to the didactic instruction in hygiene a definite point. 
Athletics, considered as exercises, is, in itself, an hygienic procedure 
and a part of the health program, and by its practice pupils obtain 
appropriate daily exercises which tends to keep them in good health. 
They gain a knowledge of the modes of physical recreation, a skill 
in their performance and an interest in them which will serve well 
during adolescence and adult life. In this matter, athletics and 
hygiene join in an endeavor to make for a life habit of exercise. 

The work in hygiene, physical training exercises of the school 
session and the athletics and athletic centres of the afternoon form 
an interlocking program designed to foster and develop health and 
vitality. During the year I have held conferences of the Directors 
of Physical Training and Educational Hygiene and Inspectors of 
Athletics, at which the methods of correlation have been discussed 
and plans developed. 

HYGIENE 
Instruction in Hygiene 

Realizing that the present syllabus in hygiene was not efficient, 
I devised and tried in various schools a new syllabus which is now 
before the Board of Superintendents for consideration. While the 



old syllabus was mainly didactic, the new is personal and objective. 
It provides instructions for the control of class-room hygiene by 
the teacher with reference to seating, temperature, ventilation, light, 
immobility, etc. The Daily Morning Hygiene Inspection is called 
for and methods for its use are given. Three hundred and one 
schools had already put this into practice. The purpose of the 
Daily Morning Inspection is to observe the success of pupils in 
putting into actual daily practice the instruction given. In this 
respect it is an efficient test of the school work. It also promises a 
discovery of early signs of illness and will do much to prevent the 
spread of contagion, and in our experimental work it has been found 
to establish a close and effective cooperation between the home, the 
school, the medical inspector and the nurse. 

Characteristic of the purpose of the new syllabus to make daily 
living hygienic, is the "Daily Routine." This is a schedule of the 
daily hygienic features of child life. A typical program beginning 
with getting up in the morning and ending with opening the window 
of the bedroom at night is written out by each pupil and taken home 
where it will be of best use to both parents and children. 

The teachers are required to make an annual test of vision and 
hearing. This will supplement the work of the medical inspectors 
of the Board of Health who cannot now cover the whole field. Di- 
dactic instruction is continued, but it is based primarily upon the 
daily inspection, daily routine and the personal daily experience 
of the children. Mere anatomy is discarded wholly and physiology 
has been subordinated. Topics for ten lessons for each term are 
given in detail. Each term has a general subject which is considered 
with reference to daily life and its application to the home, seasonal 
hygiene, alcohol, tobacco and anti-tuberculosis measures. Realizing 
that many children leave school directly to go to work, a special 
term outline on the Hygiene of the Worker has been offered to be 
used at the discretion of the principal in pre-vocational schools 
and for classes of children preparing for work. Many of the older 
girls will upon leaving school assume household duties and many 
are already important influences in the home. To meet their needs 
a special term outline has been furnished on Home Hygiene. Where 
this syllabus has been tried, it has aroused the keen enthusiastic 



interest of the pupils and teachers and has made an important and 
easily noted difference in the appearance and health of the pupils. 



Cooperation With the Board of Health 

The Board of Health has for many years conducted the medical 
inspection of school children, and the fact that two City departments 
come in official contact with the pupil has made local and general 
interdepartmental relations subject to strain. 

The employment of Assistant Directors of Educational Hygiene, 
assigned to all matters relating to the health of pupils and teachers, 
has given the Board of Education a Bureau of Educational Hygiene 
with general powers. This formal entry into the field of specific 
health activities provided an opportunity to adjust the work of the 
two departments to each other, and upon receipt of authority from 
the City Superintendent and President of the Board of Education, 
I approached Dr. S. S. Goldwater, Commissioner of Health, with a 
proposition to hold periodical conferences with his subordinates. 
Two such conferences have been held, important matters were dis- 
cussed and many plans for cooperative action have been formulated 
and put into operation. The field of work of the two departments 
was first carefully analyzed and defined. It is agreed that under 
present conditions the Department of Health was primarily con- 
cerned with medical inspection, and the Department of Education 
with all other matters, but that each department with its jurisdiction 
over health affairs had a definite interest in the field of the other, 
and the freest consultation on all matters was agreed upon. 

With reference to physical defects it is agreed that the teachers 
might make simple functional tests of eyes and ears, and that some 
plan should be devised for the cooperative recording and following-up 
of these cases to treatment and cure. 

It is agreed that the instruction of pupils and teachers on matters 
of health is the duty of the Department of Education, but that such 
instructions might properly receive the vise of the Health Depart- 
ment. Since the inauguration of this plan, there has been constant 



9 

reference of important matters to and from the Department of 
Health, and cordial relations have been established. 



Experimental Work in Teachers' Examinations for Physical 

Disabilities 

Previous to the inauguration of our cooperative plan, it was 
decided in connection with the preparation of the new syllabus in 
hygiene to test the ability of the teachers to make functional exami- 
nations of the eyes and ears and to follow-up the cases thus dis- 
covered to treatment and cure. Accordingly, the new syllabus 
was introduced in six public schools. This provided for lessons in 
hygiene, the daily hygienic inspection, the daily routine, testing 
eyes and ears, etc., notation of evident signs of illness, and the noti- 
fication of parents. This experiment was remarkably successful, 
and demonstrated beyond doubt that the teachers, who were carefully 
instructed not to assume medical function or authority, were able 
to note and obtain evidences of physical deficiency and to stimulate 
effective parental interest. At one school 42 teachers were given 
this instruction, 1,648 pupils were examined on one "Health Day." 
Of these, 1,128 pupils, or 68 per cent., were found to have 1,343 
defects (1.19 defects per pupil). In an average time of six weeks, 
28 per cent, of the cases were "terminated" — i. e., they presented 
certificates from a physician or dentist stating that they were under 
treatment. Twenty per cent, of all defects have been found cured 
or substantially improved. In addition to these percentages, 143 
children with defective teeth and 14 with general defects have 
already promised treatment during the summer. This compares 
favorably with the results of medical inspection in various cities 
where the follow-up work has been pursued for six months or a year. 
In the other schools similar excellent results were obtained. 

While this experiment clearly demonstrates the efficiency of the 
teacher in a certain field, yet it cannot be taken to indicate that the 
doctor and nurse are unnecessary. By the cooperation of the teachers 
we can be assured that all pupils will receive definite attention at 
least once a year, and that the doctors and nurses will be enabled to 
devote their attention efficiently to the medical field which cannot 
be covered by the teachers. 



10 

A parallel experiment, conducted independently by the Board 
of Health in one other school, indicated that teachers could discover 
72 per cent, of all defects. 

Cooperative Experiment With the Board of Health 

After conference with the Board of Health, it was decided to 
terminate independent experiment and to engage in the working 
out of the new syllabus in hygiene, placing the principal, teacher, 
physician and nurse in their appropriate fields and in cooperation 
with each other, thus combining all health activities of the two 
departments — physical training, hygiene, athletics and medical 
inspection — in one consistent health program. 

Hygiene of the Eye 

As a result of the work of the Committee on the Hygiene of the 
Eye, called by Dr. Dennis J. McDonald, important recommendations 
were made to the Board of Education, and several matters have 
been put forward. (See p. 19 of the Sixteenth Annual Report of 
the City Superintendent of Schools — Physical Training and Hygiene.) 

At the request of the Superintendent of School Buildings, I have 
prepared suggestions for a circular of instruction to teachers in rooms 
insufficiently illuminated. This related to the use of artificial light, 
cleanliness of windows, the display of dark colored pictures, the 
use of shades and the maintenance of a proper reading and working 
distance. Owing to the fact that dirty windows may reduce as 
much as 20 per cent, of light, the Committee on Care of Buildings 
was asked to instruct the janitors to pay particular attention to 
rooms deficiently lighted. Further recommendations were made 
to the Committee on Buildings with reference to the improvement 
of illumination of such rooms by whitewashing the walls of adjoining 
sections of the school building. 

In accord with the action of the Board of Education approving the 
recommendation of Committee on Hygiene of the Eye, I was in- 
structed by the City Superintendent to prepare standards for type, 
paper, illustrations, etc., for use in school text books. After a 
critical survey of the standards adopted by Cohn, the British Asso- 



11 

ciation, the American Medical Association, the American School 
Hygiene Association, the American Association for the Conservation 
of Vision, the report prepared by Superintendents Straubenmuller 
and Haaren on the subject (adopted December 3, 1908, by the Board 
of Education) and other scientific work, the tentative standards 
were prepared and sent to the Board of Superintendents. 



Pupil Organizations for School Hygiene 

In the course of a survey of hygienic conditions affecting schools, 
I discovered that 204 schools had pupils' self-government organiza- 
tions of various kinds which had some duty with reference to health. 
These were sanitary squads, civic leagues and health departments 
of school states or cities. These schools were asked for reports of 
their methods of organizations. With the assistance of the Pupils' 
Self -Government League, Dr. Frances Cohen, Assistant Director 
of Educational Hygiene, prepared a pamphlet describing the best 
typical methods of pupil organization. This should be printed 
and circulated among the schools, for the results of such organizations 
in improving the physical conditions of pupils are excellent. 

Pamphlet: "How To Safeguard the Health of the Child." 

In response to a request from the Committee on Hygiene, a 
pamphlet for parents on "How to Safeguard the Health of the Child," 
was prepared by this department. This deals with the simple 
hygienic affairs of daily life and gives good counsel to fathers and 
mothers. It provides a basis for making the school instruction in 
hygiene effective in the home, and seeks to establish an intelligent 
cooperation. This, I submit, should be printed and put into circu- 
lation. 

Lectures on First Aid 

Dr. Goldberger made arrangements with the Society for First - 
Aid-to-the-Injured for a series of five lectures to the pupils of the 
Stuyvesant Evening Trade School. One hundred and seventy-five 
attended, and seventy-eight secured diplomas from the society. It 
is recommended that this service be extended to other schools. 



12 

Soap and Towels 

The Board of Health has called the attention of the Board of 
Education to the fact set forth in my last annual report that no 
facilities for pupils to wash their hands are provided in the schools, 
and recommended the provision of a reasonable supply of soap and 
towels. The Board of Health has now called public attention to 
this lack of equipment, stating that "consideration of health and 
of common decency demand that the existing defect should be 
remedied." I beg leave to renew my recommendation to the effect 
that every school should be furnished with at least one sanitary 
soap container and a stock of paper towels. Unless this is done, 
our instruction in personal cleanliness lacks point. 



Sanitary Floor Dressing 

In previous reports I have called attention to the necessity of 
eliminating dust from class-room air. It has proven impossible 
to prevent dust rising from the crevices of the wooden floors of the 
classrooms during the physical training exercises. The most careful 
use of the best methods of cleaning has proven inadequate. At 
my request, a test of the efficiency of the application of the sanitary 
floor dressing to the floors was made by a technical expert, and 
Dr. Goldberger has conducted a series of exhaustive biological and 
physical experiments. I obtained the approval of the Bureau of 
Fire Prevention, and the Committees on Supplies and Care of 
Buildings have given their consent, and floor dressing may now be 
supplied to the schools. 

Truants 

At the request of Mr. John W. Davis, Director of the Bureau of 
Attendance and Child Welfare, I assigned Dr. Goldberger to the 
medical examination of children reported for truancy in the Second 
District. This was most detailed and thorough, including weight, 
nutrition, date of last vaccination, physiological age, stigmata of 
degeneracy, blood pressure, heart and lungs, teeth, ears, eyes, etc. 
A mental examination was also undertaken by another department. 
The results are as follows: 



13 

TABLE SHOWING PERCENTAGE OF PHYSICAL DEFECTS FOUND IN A GROUP OF 
EIGHTY TRUANTS DURING RECENT INVESTIGATION. 

No. of Percentage 

Cases. defective 

Number examined 80 

Free from physical defects 7 

Defective teeth 73 91 % 

Defective vision 17 20. 1% 

Defective hearing 6 7. 5% 

Defective nasal breathing 8 10. 0% 

Hypertrophied tonsils 13 10. 6% 

Anaemia 2 2. 5% 

Defective nutrition 21 26. 2% 

Cardiac disease 4 5.0% 

Pulmonary disease 1 1 • 2% 

Orthopedic defects 20 25. 0% 

Speech defects 6 7.5% 

Masturbation 66 82. 5% 

Tobacco 60 75. 0% 

Alcohol 19 23.7% 

Enlarged thyroid 1 1-2% 

Nervous diseases 1 1 ■ 2% 



TABLE COMPARING THE NATURE AND PERCENTAGE OF DEFECTS FOUND IN THE 
REGULAR ROUTINE PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS MADE DURING 1912, BY THE 
BOARD OF HEALTH, AND OUR EXAMINATION OF TRUANTS. 

Board of 
Health Find- 
Nature of defect ings, 1912 Truants 

Malnutrition 2.9% 26.2% 

Defective vision 7.3% 20. 1% 

Defective hearing 0. 5% 7. 5% 

Defective nasal breathing 7.6% 10. 0% 

Hypertrophied tonsils 10.4% 10.6% 

Defective teeth 49.4% 91.2% 

Pulmonary disease 0. 1% 1-2% 

Cardiac disease 0.5% 5.0% 



The prevalence of physical defects in truants is clearly shown 
and is of grave significance. It is demonstrated that truancy is 
quite as much of medical as of scholastic interest. These results 
point to the necessity of extending this examination to all districts 
in the City and to the prompt establishment of measures to remedy 



14 

the conditions. One of the most striking of Dr. Goldberger's results 
is the fact that truants almost uniformly show a high blood pressure 
corresponding approximately to the normal of adults of the age of 
twenty-five. This has been verified by examinations made by him at 
the Parental School where it was found that the boys on admission 
showed a high blood pressure, but after two or three months stay 
at the school this became practically normal. This has an important 
bearing upon the function of the Parental School and the benefits 
derived by the truants under its care. It may also indicate the 
possible reason for the increased prevalence of degenerative diseases 
of adult life which are the most important factors of morbidity 
which have not been reduced by modern sanitation. 



Tests of Vitality and School Fatigue 

Hitherto we have been unable to guide our management of pupils 
in the school upon the basis of definite knowledge of the vital cost 
of school work. As a result of a series of investigations on blood 
pressure and the frequency of blood cells, I devised a test of efficiency 
of the vaso-motor system which controls the distribution of the blood, 
and this promises to be an accurate measure of vitality. This test 
will measure the vital wear occasioned by the day's work, the gain 
in vitality from a night's rest, or from the week-end or a vacation. 
The record is made in definite percentage form which provides a 
basis for statistical analysis. In a series of thirty-four cases tested 
before and after the school day's work, there was an average loss 
of 8.4 per cent. In the series of fifty-nine cases which were tested 
on Friday and again under the same conditions on the succeeding 
Monday, it was found there was an average gain of 6.4 per cent. 
In seventy-six cases in a girls' high school tested before and after 
the Easter vacation, there was an average gain of 12.8 per cent. 
Fourteen of these cases were "run down" or ill before vacation, but 
these recuperated to the extent of 16.4 per cent. Twelve were ill 
during vacation and lost 5.7 per cent. Similar records were made 
on the teachers of P. S. 33, Bronx, by Dr. Goldberger, and similar 
results were obtained. A careful note was made as to the manner 
of spending the vacation. In all those who had a restful week the 
gain varied from 5 to 32 per cent. In three cases who reported 
personal illness, or illness or death in the family, there was a loss 



15 



of 20 to 30 per cent. It was found that as a result of two months 
work, twelve teachers showed a loss of 8 1/3 per cent, in vitality. 
This corresponds closely to the loss occasioned by one day's work, 
and the teachers apparently start the day in about the same condition 
that they had two months previously closed it. 

At the request of the New York State Ventilation Commission, 
I drafted a set of tests to be used in connection with their experiments 
in the effect of recirculated and outdoor air in P. S. 51, The Bronx, 
and the work is now in progress. While the report has not yet 
been made, yet experimental work in specially devised cabinets has 
revealed the fact that one ventilation factor at least, i. e., temperature, 
has an important influence on vitality. Using our test of vaso-tone, 
it was found that the subject showed 50 per cent, better condition 
at 68 degrees F. than at 86 degrees F. 



Physicians in High Schools 

It is generally agreed that physicians should be attached to the 
high schools to discover and remove physical defects and to direct 
the health activities of the schools. The High School Committee 
considered this matter and deferred favorable action on account 
of lack of financial ability. That this service may be of the greatest 
benefit was made clear by the assignment of two physicians of the 
Board of Health (a man and a woman) to the Eastern District High 
School at the beginning of the fall term in 1914. This arrangement 
was made by my office at the request of Mr. Vlymen, the principal 
of the school. Parental consent was obtained for a thorough exami- 
nation, and the physical training teachers followed up the cases and 
kept all records. The whole entering class was examined, and of 
289 cases 169, or 58 per cent., were defective with 261 defects. Of 
these 231, or 88 per cent., "terminated," *. e., cured or improved; 
a result more than three times the average record of medical inspection 
work. This conclusively proves the necessity for such service and 
the efficiency of the method followed. Unfortunately the Com- 
missioner of Health decided not to renew the assignments, and the 
only course to follow in the future is to engage and assign our own 
physicians. 



16 
Dental Hygiene Week and Tooth Brush Day 

The almost universal prevalence of decayed teeth among school 
children has continued for many years, and it is the consensus of 
medical opinion that much illness and disability has resulted there- 
from. To bring to the attention of all the children and all the 
parents of the city the necessity of dental care, I proposed that 
the week of May 24-29 should be designated "Dental Hygiene Week," 
and May 28 "Tooth Brush Day." This was approved by the Acting 
City Superintendent and the President of the Board of Education. 
Accordingly circulars were issued to the principals of the schools 
calling attention to the matter, and an issue of the School Health News 
was devoted exclusively to this subject. A plan for the week was 
suggested as follows: 

Monday — Talks by the principal in assembly. Tuesday — 
Lectures by dentists. Wednesday — Special instruction by the 
teachers and announcement of the Tooth Brush Drill and inspection. 
Thursday — Meetings of Parents' Associations and Mothers' Clubs. 
Friday — Tooth Brush Inspection and Drill. Saturday — Dental 
Hygiene Field Day. 

While in some cases the idea of instruction in dental hygiene was 
apparently new, yet the response of the principals and teachers 
throughout the City was sufficient to make a deep impression on 
practically the whole school population. The First and Second 
District Dental Societies and The Bronx County Dental Society 
appointed committees and organized corps of lecturers who addressed 
the pupils of one hundred and twenty-five schools. More than 
thirty Parents' Associations devoted their meetings to this subject, 
and on Tooth Brush Day it is estimated that over four hundred 
thousand (400,000) children brought tooth brushes to school and 
practiced the Tooth Brush Drill. The Dental Associations provided 
banners to be given to the class in Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn 
which showed the best drill and the best kept teeth. 

It is impossible to estimate the benefit derived from this campaign, 
but it is clear that at a negligible cost the whole City has been apprised 
of the importance of dental. hygiene, and that this work may be 



18 

followed up in the future to still greater advantage. The movement 
attracted a widespread interest, and other large cities are preparing 
similar campaigns for the fall. 

"School Health News" 

Through the courtesy of Dr. S. S. Goldwater, Commissioner of 
Health, this department was offered one-quarter of the pages of 
the School Health News which the Bureau of Health Education 
of the Department of Health was preparing to issue to the school 
teachers of the City. Two issues have been printed and distributed 
through the Bureau of Supplies and the offices of the District Super- 
intendents. This is an earnest of the efficiency of the cooperation 
existing between the two departments, and it provides a most wel- 
come means of giving the teachers important counsel on matters 
of health. 



PHYSICAL TRAINING (ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS) 

New Syllabus 

The new syllabus for the last four years of the elementary school 
has now been in operation for a year. The difficulties attending 
its introduction have been practically negligible. The definite, 
concise instructions, the simplicity and naturalness of the exercises 
and the manifest ease in understanding the purpose of the required 
procedure, all appealed so strongly to the teachers that the old course 
was gladly discarded for the new. The teachers have exhibited a 
keen interest and enjoy it for they now know what results are desired, 
and they can observe from day to day the progress made. There 
has been a change in the general attitude of pupils toward the subject. 
The purpose of the instruction has been put within their grasp and 
they have become interested in their own personal advancement. 
The continuity of the progress from term to term was clearly shown 
by careful inspections during the first week of February. It was 
found that the pupils knew exactly what to do and no time was 
lost in continuing uninterruptedly the work of the previous term. 



19 

That physical training has come to mean something to be sought 
rather than to be avoided as a task, is indicated by the fact that in 
three district athletic meets, each with approximately one thousand 
contestants, the boys, trained in various schools met and exhibited in 
unison physical training exercises taken from the syllabus; — another 
evidence of complete correlation of these two subjects. The athletic 
period has proven a most popular departure. Aside from its corre- 
lation with after school athletics, it has served to indicate that in 
every class there are a few natural leaders who if given a little instruc- 
tion and assistance will carry on an athletic period in an efficient 
and boy-like manner, and in some respects quite superior to adult 
control. This has multiplied the efficiency and rapidity of our 
instruction. 

The organized recess, standardized two years ago, has been 
better understood and used than ever before. Some principals 
have placed it in operation during a part of the noon hour for the 
benefit of children who do not go home to lunch, and in some cases 
it is used before 9:00 o'clock. It has been adopted as a mode of 
caring for little children when they are assembled on the playground, 
and it provides safety, pleasure and instruction. 



Double Sessions 

Double sessions tend to interfere with the instruction in physical 
training. While in many cases the time spent in the playground 
has increased, yet the attendance is in such large numbers that only 
play activities can be indulged in and formal and corrective work is 
neglected. 

Pre-Vocational Schools 

Special teachers of physical training were put in the pre-vocational 
schools. They conducted the regular physical training, gave instruc- 
tion in hygiene, made simple tests for obvious physical defects, 
followed them up to cure, and conducted a morning hygienic inspec- 
tion. The adjoining parks and gymnasia were used where the 
school buildings did not provide sufficient facilities for physical 
training. Special teachers also supervise the posture of the pupils 



20 

in the shops. This is particularly important in millinery, dress- 
making and other sedentary employments. In power machine 
and other machine work where the operator is constantly standing 
and other more or less static occupations, there is a decided inclination 
to assume bad posture, which interferes with all vital activities 
and reduces efficiency. In other activities, 'such as carpentry and 
electric wiring, there is less need for correction. 

Special Teachers 

The special teachers continually leave the elementary school 
corps for the high schools because the salary is greater, and as a 
result there are ten substitutes in a corps of forty-seven teachers. 
This is obviously wrong. Special teachers are engaged in supervision 
and administration, a higher grade of instruction than teaching, 
and should be paid correspondingly more. 

Normal Instruction 

In my last annual report, I recommended the provision of a 
special normal course in physical training in the teachers' training 
schools; normal instruction in the evening high schools and instruc- 
tion in the day high schools of applicants for junior assistant license. 
As a result, classes for women school teachers were conducted in 
the Harlem and New York Evening High Schools. The work 
was carefully planned and expert teachers assigned. More than 
one hundred teachers were enrolled in these classes; fifty-seven who 
received a rating of over 70 per cent, and attended ninety hours 
were given a special certificate; the balance were given a certificate 
in accordance with their merit. This has given the schools of the 
City a great profit. The method should be continued and the number 
of classes increased. 

In response to your request, I was instructed to select thirty 
teachers to take a special course of forty days, one day a week, in 
physical training at the training schools. This was done, and the 
courses are now in progress and the benefit of the instruction given 
is already apparent in the schools. These classes combined with 
the classes in the Evening High Schools should be greatly extended, 



21 

for by these means we can place in each school one or more teachers 
who are able not only to conduct physical training work on the 
departmental plan, but to aid other teachers. The departmental 
assignments of physical training are increasing with profit to the 
schools. This plan should be extended to the third, fourth, fifth 
and sixth years. 

Promotion License 

Two examinations for promotion license in physical training 
have been held, and each candidate was given a practical test 
in the classroom. While the performance of the candidates at the 
first examination was good, the improvement in the second exami- 
nation was most marked. Many of the teachers who had been 
trained only in the normal courses indicated above, compared 
favorably with the graduates of normal schools of physical training. 
In the future I hope that the physical training in the elementary 
schools may be taught entirely by teachers who have had special 
normal instruction. 



Class Competition in Health 

Monthly records of progress in posture are now kept. In various 
public schools the results of the morning hygienic inspection have 
been tabulated and monthly records kept in several schools, notably 
P. S. 88, Brooklyn. A record of the prevalence of physical defects 
has also been kept and the Board of Health has experimented in 
this plan. In athletics, class competition has long been a standard 
event. It is our purpose during the coming year to standardize 
the system of class records and to organize tentatively inter-class 
competition. This will be supported by an individual pupil's record 
card which will contain his record of personal hygiene, athletics 
and physical training and uncorrected physical defects. Experiments 
have already been made in this direction in athletic centres where 
each boy has been supplied with a card on which he keeps a record 
of his athletic performance, and on which frequently appears hygienic 
rules for training. 



22 

Posture 

In most parts of the City the posture of the children has strikingly 
improved. Improvement in posture is not due so much to a more 
or less mechanical effect of corrective exercises as to the improve- 
ment in health and vitality resulting from increased participation 
in athletics and the use of hygienic exercises. 

During the year several of my students conducted a series of 
investigations on the relation of good posture to other features of 
school work. It was found that pupils with good posture were 
11 per cent, better in deportment, 25 per cent, better in manual 
training and 8 per cent, stronger. Those whose teeth showed good 
care had 33 per cent, better posture than those with defective teeth. 
Those with bad posture were absent three and one-half times more 
frequently than those with good posture. In addition, it was found 
that those children who had ample and well selected breakfasts 
had a posture 50 per cent, better than those who had poor breakfasts. 
These interesting figures indicate the clear relation of good posture 
and vitality. 

Vocational Schools 

Two teachers were assigned to the vocational school for boys. 
They proceeded at once to develop a consistent program of hygiene, 
physical training and athletics. Careful physical examinations 
were made and the work was well under way when both were 
appointed to high schools at a higher salary. After a lapse of three 
months two other teachers were found, and the work is now resumed. 
In the vocational school for girls a most efficient plan of medical 
inspection, physical training, hygiene and athletics is under way. 
This efficiently prepares girls for the strains of labor and gives then! 
a habit of exercise and care of the health which provides an excellent 
foundation for a life work. 



High Schools 

The physical training in high schools for girls has progressed 
rapidly and systematically under the inspection and guidance of 



23 

Miss Josephine Beiderhase, and a similar assistance is much needed 
for the boys' schools. Seven meetings have been held, and a com- 
mittee on course of study has been formed. Standards for posture, 
the posture test, corrective exercises, hygienic exercises and typical 
physical training dances have been tentatively adopted and circu- 
lated for trial. 

In twenty buildings (main and annex), physical training is con- 
ducted under unsatisfactory, and, in some cases, bad conditions. Over- 
crowding, insufficient light and ventilation and cooking of lunches 
during the physical training lesson are not uncommon. These 
conditions should be remedied, and in all new buildings, gymnasiums 
should be placed above the street level at least, and preferably above 
the first floor. 

Evening High Schools 

Miss Beiderhase's work in the evening high schools for women 
has brought excellent results. In ten high schools there were 19 
teachers. Students were registered from one to four evenings a 
week and various plans adapted to local conditions have been adopted. 
The most satisfactory part of the work has been the normal classes 
reported upon elsewhere. In view of the fact that all of the teachers 
in evening high schools teach during the day, I would recommend 
that none be employed for more than two evenings a week. 

There were 13 physical training teachers for men in 10 evening 
high schools. The work included gymnastics, games, athletics, 
the two-minute drill and talks on health. 



Physically Handicapped Children 

The work of this department for the physical welfare of the blind, 
deaf and crippled has continued with increasing success under Dr. 
Aldinger and Miss Adele J. Smith in the following classes: 

Blind 

Schools 17 

Classes 17 



Deaf 


Cripplei 


3 


20 


31 


51 



24 



Our purpose is to develop the physical abilities remaining to 
these children so they will be able to compete successfully for a 
living, and not to become an economic burden. 



The Deaf 

Despite all handicaps, these children, characteristically lacking 
in vitality, endurance, rhythm, posture, alertness and physical 
courage have gained all these in fullest measure. They follow the 
regular syllabus, and their work compares favorably with the best 
in the City. Swimming has been taken up with enthusiasm; basket- 
ball teams formed and athletics in general used with effect. A 
"board of health" with duties with reference to personal and school 
hygiene has been formed from among the pupils. 



The Blind 

In cooperation with Miss Moscrip, important progress has been 
made. Meetings of teachers have been held, and blanks for corre- 
lating the work of the class and special teacher have been put into 
use with excellent result. Through physical training, these children 
have in most cases lost their general attitude of disability and timid- 
ity, and have gained courage, interest, strength and good posture. 
They pass the ordinary tests in physical training and engage in 
athletics and folk dancing. Many have gone to the high schools 
where their training should be continued. 



The Crippled 

A meeting of the principals of the schools with classes for cripples 
was called by Dr. Edson, and the following matters were set forward: 



1. Notification of the Director of Physical Training of all admissions. 

This permits us to obtain promptly diagnosis and advice from an 
orthopedist. 

2. A similar notice of discharges. This permits following up the case in 

another school or in a hospital, or gives opportunity for vocational 
guidance. 



25 

3. The use of the individual record cards. These cards contain a resume 

of all important items relating to the case of the pupils. 

4. The use of a class record card which contains for the teacher's use a 

summary of appropriate activities for each pupil. 

5. Special matters pertaining to furniture adjustment, foot rests and 

cushions, regulation of temperature, and the like. 

The greatest advance in this field is the beginning of a segregation 
of three kinds of cripples in separate classes, i. e.: 

1. Tubercular joint cases. 

2. Other joint cases. 

3. Mental defectives. 

The greatest problem in connection with this work is the care and 
instruction of children with more than one physical defect. 



Pre-tubercular Children 

Of all the children of the City, those most in need of physical 
training and hygiene are found in families with a tubercular taint. 
Inferior in constitution from birth, they are continually exposed to 
the disease. For these, the Board of Health has established fifteen 
clinics, and provides physicians, child specialists and nurses who 
make examinations, take measurements, institute medical measures, 
give instruction in hygiene, visit the homes and conduct mothers' 
meetings. The children are also given lunch by the Ladies' Auxiliary 
attached to each clinic. Physical training is the only item of the 
health program that was missing. In response to a request of the 
Board of Health, Miss Adele J. Smith was assigned to one of these, 
the East Side Clinic. During the year she gave instruction in 
deep breathing, hygiene, corrective and home exercises; and the 
results have been marvelous. A careful system of records has been 
devised, and this already reveals a striking improvement in physical 
measurements and in vital resistance. In this clinic not one child 
developed tuberculosis during the year. The Board of Health has 
asked that we supply teachers for all other such clinics, and I am 
convinced that it should be done. 



27 

ATHLETICS 

James E. Sullivan 

On September 1(5, 1914, James E. Sullivan died. He was the 
most prominent and able man in the athletic world. One of the 
organizers of the Public Schools Athletic League, he gave wisdom 
to the councils and energy to its work. To him, the children of the 
City owe a debt for the health and vigor they have gained in great 
part from the movement he fostered. He took the greatest delight 
in "fair play," and he always exemplified the highest ideals of ath- 
letics, which, as he often showed, were high indeed. 

His work has done good to the children, and his example is one 
to be remembered and praised. 

After-School Athletic Centres 

The after-school athletic centres have been continued on the 
same basis as last year, and the results have been peculiarly gratify- 
ing. The service to the children, the school, family and community 
has been recognized, and from each of these sources requests for 
the opening of new centres are continually made. It is impossible 
to grant even a majority of them. If there ever existed any doubt 
as to the value of the centres it may be removed by the many letters 
from parents who render appreciative thanks to the City government 
which has removed their children from the danger of the streets 
and given them happy and healthy activity. 

To estimate the power for good that has come to the children 
of the City, the mere record of so many millions' attendance during 
the year is inadequate unless it is realized that the number is a 
multiple of a single child. It is necessary to see the centre from the 
standpoint of one of the tens of thousands of parents whose children 
have been so greatly profited. The following is but one of the many 
letters received by the teachers: 

"I want to tell you how much my daughter Peggy has improved in health 
since she has been a member of your afternoon playground. She has a much 
better appetite — seems very much stronger in all ways. She always looks 



28 

forward with great joy to the playground sessions and came home very 
anxious to teach her little playmates the new games and dances you had 
taught. I think the Public School Playgrounds very helpful in all ways." 

The principals have watched and aided the work. Mr. McCarthy, 
principal of P. S. 42, Bronx, writes as follows: 

"Our Athletic Centre has been a help to our boys and to us. I hear 
no more of gang fights among our pupils and I am confident that the whole- 
some competition fostered by the team work has been a great factor in 
directing the gang spirit." 

"The opportunities for play in a congested district are necessarily limited, 
and if the centres did nothing more than to provide play space, they would 
be well worth their cost. These centres have been a very successful means 
in lessening the number of street accidents often resulting fatally to children. 
During the past three years, or since we have had a centre in this school, 
but one case of serious injury to a child on the street has been brought to 
my attention. How different before! 

"The teachers tell me they notice more life on the part of the dull pupil. 
Two or three hours of good organized play and participation in athletics 
seem to prepare him for his home work. School does not mean only drudgery 
to him. 

"The general health seems to have improved. I notice this in the 
improved posture, eagerness for work and all those other signs which give 
evidence of a healthy condition of the body. 

"These centres inculcate a spirit of fair play, of honesty in games, of 
obedience to law, which will mean so much to the boy in later life. 

"So, for the safety, exercise, added health and power, these centres are 
undoubtedly providing for the child, I shall be very anxious to see them 
reopened as early as possible." 

Reports further indicate the improvement in health and energy. 
Children who were selfish, bad losers or did not know how to play, 
have changed completely. School and class spirit have been devel- 
oped. Older girls who have to take care of babies have frequently 
brought them to school in their carriages, and in one school a special 
room has been provided for them. Parents frequently visit the 
centres and many stay throughout the afternoon. 

To handle the large crowds with exactness and efficiency the 
squad organization was devised. Each squad is a self-sustaining 
club in itself, with a captain or leader who records attendance and 
athletic performance. 



30 

The athletic centre finally stimulates the majority of the boys 
to engage in athletics. In a school organized last September, it 
was found that 90 per cent, never had taken part in athletics. In 
the succeeding June over 92 per cent, had entered in some form of 
athletics, and the school took a prominent place in the borough 
championships. 

The record for attendance for 1914-1915 was 4,171,130. 



Standard Activities — Boys 

In service and scope our standard activities have made a rapid 
advance. 

The Indoor Elementary School Athletic Meet took place in 
December in Madison Square Garden with 2,084 entries; the largest 
ever held. During the year 38 athletic records were broken. More 
than double the number of interclass indoor baseball teams played 
through the season, and the number of interclass basketball teams 
increased from 1,439 to 2,194. 

Hon. John H. Finley provided a set of medals for a walk of 
13 miles for evening high school boys. 

In the Sunday World Athletic Meets, 174 schools took part, 
and 65,000 boys competed. In the last ten years, 1,450 such school 
meets have been held, with 421,000 entries. 

Marksmanship among high school boys has been practiced in 
armories, on outdoor ranges and in schools on sub-target gun ma- 
chines; 300 marksmen and 197 sharpshooters have qualified. 

Swimming has made rapid progress. The attendance was 
160,050; 8,925 have learned to swim and 666 have been awarded 
badges for proficiency. 

The following analyses of class athletics and the badge test 
indicate a continuance of a rapid advance. 



31 

Class Athletics 

Standing Broad Jump 

Fall— 1914 



No. of 
schools 
Borough competing 

Manhattan 48 

Bronx 20 

Brooklyn 4S 

Queens 31 

Richmond 10 

Total 157 



No. of 


No. of 


classes 


boys 


competing 


competing 


818 


28,178 


380 


9,631 


685 


19,823 


300 


5,352 


91 


1,497 



2,274 



64,481 



Manhattan 

Bronx 

Brooklyn 

Queens 

Richmond 

Total 177 



Chinning — 1915 
50 


924 
399 

778 ■ 
281 
95 


29,377 


18 


10,343 


59 


18,914 


38 


5,421 


12 


1,860 







2,477 



65,915 



Running — 1915 



Manhattan 22 

Bronx 10 

Brooklyn 30 

Queens 17 

Richmond 9 

Total 88 



425 
200 
460 
200 
45 



1,330 



7,960 
2,460 
7,983 
2,423 

728 

21,554 



Total entries: 
Total entries: 



1914-1915—151,950 
1913-1914—128,669 



32 



SUMMARY — ATHLETIC BADGE TEST 

Xo. Of 
No. of No. of Class B 

Borough schools Class A (bronze- Total 

competing (bronze) silver) 

Manhattan 62 6,159 3,017 9,238 

Bronx 29 2,328 1,151 3,508 

Brooklyn 89 5,963 3,048 9,100 

Queens 39 1,432 607 2,078 

Richmond 14 380 208 602 

233 16,262 8,031 24,526 

High schools 463 

Grand total 24,989 

The number of badges won since the organization of the Public 
Schools Athletic League is as follows: 

1904-5 1,162 1909-10 6,106 

1905-6 1,654 1910-11 8,299 

1906-7 2,563 1911-12 10,404 

1907-8 4,000 1912-13 12,220 

1908-9 7,049 1913-14 18,554 

1914-15 24,756 



The following figures indicate the progress of the last decade: 

1904-5 1914-15 

Entries in athletic competition 1,500 425,000 

Athletic badges won 1,162 24,756 

Class athletic entries 153,635 

This report serves to indicate substantial progress toward the 
realization of our ideal — every boy in athletic training. 



Standard Athletics — Girls 

The work in after-school athletics for girls has made excellent 
progress during the past school year. Miss Elizabeth Burchenal 
was away on leave of absence until December 15th, but the season's 
work was successfully organized by Miss Emily A. O'Keefe. 



33 



INSTRUCTION CLASSES FOR TEACHING 

Registration: 1912-1913 621 

1913-1914 733 

1914-1915 751 

Our instruction of class teachers in the methods of carrying on 
after-school athletic clubs for girls has been continued and extended. 
Nine classes were held; 751 attended; 350 obtained certificates of 
proficiency after the examination at the end of the course. Lectures 
were given in connection with these courses, which compare favorably 
with similar instruction given in normal schools of physical training. 

Swimming 

Early in the year a coaching class for the instruction of the 
women coaches in swimming for girls was held in cooperation with 
The Women's National Volunteer Life-Saving League. 

COMPARATIVE STATISTICS 

High schools: 

1913-14 1914-15 

Number of schools 13 14 

Number of lessons 411 467 

Total attendance 8,482 10,813 

Number of girls qualifying for swimming pins. . 75 

Elementary schools: 

Number of schools 31 30 

Number of lessons 357 473 

Total attendance 7,562 9,530 

Number of girls qualifying for swimming pins. . 127 



Park Fetes 

The Girls' Branch Public Schools Athletic League held their 
usual park fetes. 

No. of schools No. of girls 

Date Location 

May 11th. Central Park 

May 18th. Prospect Park 64 

May 25th. Sailors' Snug Harbor 11 



1914 


1915 


1914 


1915 


89 


86 


6,921 


7,930 


64 


68 


5,968 


5,392 


11 


15 


738 


1,000 



34 

One of the most interesting features of these fetes was the large 
attendance from schools having athletic centres. From Public 
School 59, Manhattan, there were 600 girls. 



The athletic centres referred to elsewhere have continued their 
excellent services to the girls of the City, and they should be extended. 
Girls are more in need of a safe place to play than are the boys. The 
deleterious influences of the street are well recognized by the parents, 
and the provision for new athletic centres is eagerly sought. During 
the year experiments have been made in utilizing the street in front 
of the school for play in connection with the athletic centre. In 
some cases this has been successful, and further trial will be made 
during the coming year. In this work we have been materially aided 
by the People's Institute. 



Athletic Clubs and Centres 

Athletic centres were opened in fifty-five schools, and the number 
of girls taking part in after-school athletics in the schools is greater 
than ever, the total attendance being 583,946 as against 166,036 of 
last year. 

The following is a statement of this work with figures of last year 
given for the purposes of comparison: 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS NOT HAVING ATHLETIC CENTRES 



No. of schools 
Borough 

1914 1915 

Manhattan 80 52 

Bronx 25 21 

Brooklyn ...79 69 

Queens 22 14 

Richmond 20 17 



226 173 490 366 20,348 15,583 



No. 


of clubs 


No. of 


girls 


1914 


1915 


1914 


1915 


157 


113 


7,037 


4,950 


51 


45 


2,832 


2,638 


217 


157 


7,956 


6,074 


39 


24 


1,321 


906 


26 


27 


1,202 


1,015 



35 



ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS HAVING ATHLETIC CENTRES 

Borough No. of schools No. of clubs No. of girls 

Manhattan 28 247 9,898 

Bronx 13 108 4,319 

Brooklyn 7 47 1,876 

Queens 7 50 3,022 

55 452 IS, 115 



HIGH SCHOOLS 

No. of schools 

Borough 

1914 1915 

Manhattan 6 7 

Bronx 4 4 

Brooklyn 8 8 

Queens 6 6 

Richmond 1 2 

25 27 

Grand totals 251 255 



No. 


of clubs 


No. of girls 


1914 


1915 


1914 


1915 


25 


28 


1,739 


1,827 


20 


21 


577 


587 


54 


55 


2,405 


2,510 


25 


27 


1,708 


1,782 


3 


3 
134 

885 


132 


144 


127 


6,561 


6,850 


617 


26,909 


40,548 



Athletic Badges 

The number of athletic pins won under the regulations of the 
Girls' Branch indicates the great progress made this year, which I 
believe is the most important phase of our work. 



ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (INCLUDING ATHLETIC CENTRES) 

1914 1915 

All round athletic pins 7,154 13,396 

Contest pins 2,240 2,386 

72 contests held this year as against 59 last year. 

HIGH SCHOOLS 

All round athletic pins 542 175 

Contest pins (for championship games) 84 174 

36 championship games were held this year as against 29 of last year. 



37 

Interschool All-Round Athletic Trophies 

The Girls' Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League decided 
to offer trophies to the school and centre which showed the largest 
proportion of girls qualifying in all-round athletics. 

Instruction Classes for Hockey Coaches 

During September, 1914, free instruction classes in field hockey 
and methods of coaching were conducted in Central and Prospect 
Parks. 

In April, 1915, a special instruction class in hockey coaching 
methods was given by the Girls' Branch of the Public Schools Athletic 
League, for which a nominal fee was charged to cover the expenses 
of Miss Constance M. K. Applebee, the hockey expert engaged to 
give instruction. These lessons, three in number, were given at 
the Seventy-first Regiment Armory, and were largely attended. 

In this way we have obtained a good list of satisfactory hockey 
coaches available for high school girls' hockey practice. 

No. of Attend- 

Location lessons ance 

Central Park ... 2 50 

Prospect Park 2 46 

71st Regiment Armory 3 120 

Summary — Athletics 

During the year the athletics have increased at a far greater 
rate than the average of the preceding ten years, and the department 
has made substantial progress toward fulfilling its purpose of giving 
all children a stimulus and an opportunity to utilize the afternoon 
hours for play. 

Summary 

The most important features of the work of the year are the 
satisfactory installation of the syllabus in physical training in the 



38 



grammar grades, the beginning of the vigorous campaign in edu- 
cational hygiene, the establishment of cooperation with the Board 
of Health, the campaign in dental hygiene, and the general correlation 
of all health activities under the control of the Department of Edu- 
cation. These promise an early completion of a consistent health 
program and its effective operation. 



Respectfully submitted, 

C. WARD CRAMPTON, M. D., 

Director of Physical Training. 



LIBRARY Of CONGRESS 



III III MINI II Ml II i 
029 483 025 P 



PRESS OF 

CLARENCES. NATHAN, INC. 

NEW YORK. 



